


Fate and Families

by LilacMist



Series: my heroes s-supports [18]
Category: Fire Emblem Heroes, Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Soen no Kiseki/Akatsuki no Megami | Fire Emblem Path of Radiance/Radiant Dawn
Genre: F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Then fluff, pre-established feelings, they kiss, they tell each other they're Branded what's new, zelgius wants to be redeemed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-28
Updated: 2019-05-28
Packaged: 2020-03-20 14:41:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,414
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18994654
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LilacMist/pseuds/LilacMist
Summary: The Bridal Festival reminds Zelgius that he'll never have a family of his own.Micaiah wants to change that.





	Fate and Families

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for the tellius IS  
> watch me not mention any of them

Zelgius wakes to a pounding at his door. "Sir Knight?" Micaiah's voice chirps from outside.

Normally, he is up and about earlier than most in the Order. His schedule is optimized, and there is no room for leisurely sleeping in. He flips over and looks at the sun shining outside his window. Why _did_ he sleep in today?

The door creaks, and Zelgius sits up, glancing over to see Micaiah peeking her head in. She's dressed differently, with a veil over her head.

Oh.

That's why he was in no rush to wake.

"The Bridal Festival starts today," Micaiah says, stepping towards his bed with a huge smile plastered over her face. "Would you care to accompany me?"

Zelgius doesn't care to celebrate the annual Bridal Festival. He has no reason to. Marriage, family, and the like are foreign to him. His own kin abandoned him, and the closest thing to family he has left has yet to be summoned, stuck in the world he left behind.

And Micaiah... The woman he loves...  
He cannot unite with her. Not when he bears a mark. She deserves someone who can give her a future. He would only hold her back.

No, he would not attend the Bridal Festival with Micaiah. In fact, this blissful ignorance toward his heritage needs to be nipped in the bud. He must tell her everything, or his heart won't know peace.

"Micaiah, I cannot accompany you," he says slowly, pulling the covers off of himself and sitting to the side. He tries not to look--tries not to see how heavenly she is adorned in white. He stares at the floor.

"T-truly?" she asks quietly. He feels weight next to him, and he glances over to see her feet dangling, not tall enough to reach the floor.

Zelgius nods. "I know this is all for fun, but I... I do not have fond memories of marriage and family." He tries to ease into the conversation carefully, choosing every word with calculated accuracy. He will reveal his mark to her when the time is right.

He hears her swallow and mumble, "Oh." The bouquet in her grasp dangles by her hip, and then she drops it altogether. "So then...You've never been in love before?"

Her words cut deep, even though she is not trying to harm him. "That is not it. Rather... Rather it is because I am in love that these ideas...repulse me."

"Oh," she says again, folding her hands in her lap. "I... I do not think I understand," she admits with a sad laugh. "I suppose I assumed that anyone in love would have grandiose dreams of wedding their beloved. At least..."

He doesn't look, but he knows she is turning to him. He can feel her eyes burning, trying to meet his, but he will not face her. "At least, that's what I dreamed," she finishes in a whisper.

Zelgius turns away in turn, too overcome with sorrow to meet her gaze. "I was abandoned by my family," he recounts. "They wanted nothing to do with me. I... I do not wish that same fate upon a family of my own."

This time, she is silent. Her weight shifts, and before he can see what she is doing, her arms are around his waist, and her face is buried in his side. "That is horrible..." she mumbles against his tunic. "I... I had no idea."

"It is not something I'm open about," he admits, nervously scratching behind his neck. He is acutely aware of his Brand. It feels like it's burning against his back.

Her arms tighten. "I did not have a family either," she whispers so quietly, he barely hears her. It startles him. Micaiah is always surrounded by her allies. He had assumed she had a family as well. "Sothe was my first real family. Neither of us had homes to return to, and I didn't want to see him suffer alone, so I took him under my wing."

He listens intently as she continues. "I suppose I was too young to raise him...perhaps that's why he sees me as a sister instead of a mother." She shifts so she can lounge more comfortable against him and sighs. "Now that I'm older, I think I'm ready. Ready for a family of my own."

"Maiden," he begins to offer words of encouragement, but she cuts him off.

"Zelgius." He is startled at hearing his own name from her lips. He finally turns toward her and sees her ambition burning in her eyes. "I do not want to do this alone. I want to raise a family with the one I love. I want to raise a family with y--"

"Micaiah." He cuts her off this time, placing his hands on her shoulders and gently pushing her away from him. "Micaiah, I... I am not fit to be a husband, nor a father."

"That is not true!" she quickly interjects, but his gaze hardens. She quiets and listens to what he has to say.

He wrestles with his words, trying to find some way to make this less painful. Nothing feels right.

"Micaiah," he tries again, but he cannot do it. He cannot bring himself to say the accursed word. He bites his tongue. It stings. "I... the reason I..."

Her hand reaches out and rests on his. He pulls away.

"I cannot become close to you!" Zelgius bites, wincing when he sees the hurt in her eyes. "I cannot become close to anyone," he adds more quietly. "Micaiah, I bear a Brand." He squeezes his eyes shut and scowls. The word is awful, carrying misery wherever it goes. "That is why I was rejected by my family. That is why I am not fit to be a father."

The weight leaves his bedside. So this is it. Her leaving is what's best for them both.

He is startled when he feels her skirt tickle his legs, and he opens his eyes in time to see Micaiah climb into his lap, resting her knees on either side of his hips. "You are a fool," she says sadly, reaching up and cupping his face in her hands. "Do you believe me so shallow? That I would leave you because of your heritage? That I would stop loving you because of some mark?"

"You are missing the point," he reiterates, gently grabbing Micaiah's wrists and pulling her hands away. She leans into him abruptly. Not expecting it, he falls onto his back. She scurries forward, planting her hands on either side of his head. When he looks into her eyes, he sees her tears.

"Would you stop loving me?" she gasps, words catching in her throat. "If I had a mark, would you say I am unworthy?" He does not know how to answer. _Of course not,_ is what he thinks, but he knows that she would turn his own words against him.

"You are a fool," she repeats, leaning down and pressing one kiss, then another, under his jaw.

"I have no future," he reminds himself more than her.

"Then neither do I," she says sharply, picking her head up and locking eyes with him. "The Silver-Haired Maiden? Healing powers? None of that is human, Zelgius." His eyes widen, and she presses her nose against his neck once more. "But I will not let my Brand dictate my fate." 

He finally wraps his own arms around her and holds her against him. He was so blinded by his own plight that he did not see her suffering, her pain, so clearly etched into everything she did. "I am a fool," he accepts, tilting his head and giving her a chance to see him so vulnerable.

"A fool that I love more than anything," Micaiah breathes, finally capturing his lips in a kiss. "A fool that I want to wed someday." She tilts her head and opens her mouth, enveloping his. His hold on her tightens, and she reaches behind his head to weave her fingers into his hair. He sighs into her mouth. "You... deserve... happiness..." she mumbles between kisses. "Your Brand... does not... define you..."

After a while, he pulls away, and Micaiah lets her eyes flutter open. "I think... I have changed... my mind..." Zelgius says, taking deep breaths. "Would you... still want to go... to the festival...?"

Micaiah breathlessly laughs and points at her lips.

"I want you to kiss me again."

**Author's Note:**

> 87% of my writing is me thinking of a prompt, a basic story line, and then just kind of ignoring the story line in favor of whatever dialogue option seems to work next, and now we here
> 
> In other news, I made this 20+ minute Youtube video explaining why the heck these two became my OTP, and if you want to watch it, it's [here.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mz2oTcP8UzU&feature=youtu.be)


End file.
